Finite Element Analysis supplies information to foretell how a seal product will operate underneath certain conditions and might help establish areas the place the design may be improved without having to check multiple prototypes.
Here we explain how our engineers use FEA to design optimum sealing solutions for our buyer applications.
Why will we use Finite Element Analysis (FEA)?
Our engineers encounter many crucial sealing purposes with complicating influences. Envelope measurement, housing limitations, shaft speeds, pressure/temperature scores and chemical media are all utility parameters that we should contemplate when designing a seal.
In isolation, the impact of those application parameters is fairly simple to predict when designing a sealing resolution. However, when you compound a quantity of these elements (whilst often pushing some of them to their upper restrict when sealing) it is essential to predict what will happen in real application situations. Using FEA as a device, our engineers can confidently design and then manufacture strong, dependable, and cost-effective engineered sealing options for our prospects.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) permits us to understand and quantify the effects of real-world situations on a seal half or assembly. It can be used to identify potential causes where sub-optimal sealing efficiency has been noticed and can also be used to information the design of surrounding components; especially for merchandise similar to diaphragms and boots where contact with adjoining parts may must be averted.
The software program additionally allows force information to be extracted so that compressive forces for static seals, and friction forces for dynamic seals could be precisely predicted to help clients in the final design of their merchandise.
How can we use FEA?
Starting with a 2D or 3D model of the preliminary design concept, we apply the boundary circumstances and constraints supplied by a customer; these can include stress, pressure, temperatures, and any utilized displacements. A appropriate finite component mesh is overlaid onto the seal design. This ensures that the areas of most curiosity return correct results. We can use larger mesh sizes in areas with much less relevance (or decrease ranges of displacement) to minimise the computing time required to unravel the mannequin.
ราคาเกจวัดแรงดันลม are then assigned to the seal and hardware elements. Most sealing materials are non-linear; the amount they deflect underneath an increase in pressure varies relying on how massive that force is. This is not like the straight-line relationship for most metals and inflexible plastics. This complicates the material mannequin and extends the processing time, however we use in-house tensile test facilities to accurately produce the stress-strain materials models for our compounds to ensure the evaluation is as representative of real-world performance as attainable.
What happens with the FEA data?
The analysis itself can take minutes or hours, depending on the complexity of the half and the range of operating conditions being modelled. Behind the scenes in the software program, many lots of of hundreds of differential equations are being solved.
The results are analysed by our skilled seal designers to identify areas where the design may be optimised to match the particular requirements of the appliance. Examples of these requirements might embody sealing at very low temperatures, a have to minimise friction ranges with a dynamic seal or the seal may need to face up to excessive pressures without extruding; no matter sealing system properties are most essential to the client and the appliance.
Results for the finalised proposal can be offered to the shopper as force/temperature/stress/time dashboards, numerical information and animations exhibiting how a seal performs throughout the analysis. This data can be used as validation knowledge within the customer’s system design course of.
An instance of FEA
Faced with very tight packaging constraints, this customer requested a diaphragm part for a valve utility. By utilizing FEA, we had been capable of optimise the design; not solely of the elastomer diaphragm itself, but additionally to propose modifications to the hardware parts that interfaced with it to increase the out there house for the diaphragm. This stored material stress levels low to remove any risk of fatigue failure of the diaphragm over the life of the valve.
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